Dear John,
For our branches of government to function effectively, we must be able to trust that public officials carry out their responsibilities with integrity. That public trust also rests on the notion that other governmental officials will speak out when their own honor is undermined by the misdeeds of their colleagues.
Without adherence to these fundamental principles, our democracy becomes increasingly at risk and subject to further cynical and dishonest behaviors. Elected officials or those seeking office may decide that indictments have little impact, so it is ok to stay in or seek the job under a cloud of suspicion. But the adherence to basic norms of behavior tells us this is wrong.
Our colleague, Dennis Aftergut, wrote in The Hill that Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey should resign in light of the serious allegations of bribery detailed in last week’s 39-page indictment. His reasoning was elegant in its simplicity: a resignation would honor the public trust and set an example “that no one should seek or hold office while under a serious indictment.”
It should not matter what political party a person represents – such allegations bring dishonor to all elected officials until the issues are resolved in court. All who serve and care about the integrity of government service should demand no less. While everyone is entitled to a presumption of innocence, no one is entitled to hold office.
LDAD’s efforts to ensure that those who violated their oath to protect the Constitution be held accountable continues. We recently submitted supplemental filings to our prior ethics complaints against Rudolph Giuliani and Kenneth Chesebro. Both supplemental filings were based on newly reported developments that provide significant additional support for violations of applicable rules of professional conduct.
